Cairn and Creed
by The Disciple of Pein
Summary: Cliffhanger Oneshot: It is the soon to be known Rookie Nine's fifth year at the academy. But until recent events, it looked like that title would not be as you the readers know it. This is because for the past handful of years, one person was missing from the class. One person missing, who has now arrived. And with this new arrival comes a question on everyone's lips. Why now?


Hey there. It's been a good while since I last posted anything. Hit some hardware snags that stirred up some more snags. I'm posting this little thing to get back into the swing of things. In case you missed it in the summary, this is strictly a cliffhanger oneshot for now. Meaning that while I do have things planned for it in the future, I don't plan on making a full story from it unless A) You guys really wanna see more and B) Changing circumstances with one of my current stories. I'd love to hear your feedback and hope this catches your interest.

* * *

**The New Guy**

The windows of the gymnasium shook under the force of the wind and rain that pelted upon the glass. A sharp chill ran down the necks of the students while they awaited their sensei's instruction. The fluorescent lights flickered; it had been too long since the bulbs were changed. But there was nothing much to do about it now. Ninja had to be prepared to work in unfavourable conditions. Though perhaps these students weren't ready to fight in biting rain just yet.

Umino Iruka stood at one of the gymnasium's doors. On the other side was his fellow academy instructor Mizuki, and one other person just barely in view. Iruka did not look pleased. Frequently he would glance to the other person, receiving an incessant stare in return.

"I don't think it's a good idea to introduce a new student at a time like this." Iruka worded himself carefully so not to offend the "new student". Not that it changed anything on said student's face. "We're just about to start a sparring session."

Mizuki shrugged sympathetically, sharing Iruka's unease towards the third party with them. "It's Hokage-sama's orders. What can you do?"

A short but sufficient response that Iruka could not argue against. The instructor tapped his clipboard against his chest in thought, looking more closely at who was apparently his new student.

"My name is Umino Iruka." he delivered the same official yet approachable look he would give to any new student. "What's yours?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." the young boy answered, with a short and quick bow. "Please look after me, Iruka-sensei."

The name rang in Iruka's ears. Quickly he looked at Mizuki and the two shared an understanding. Uzumaki Naruto. They knew who this boy was.

Iruka looked at Naruto again. The young boy of ten years was peeking past him to the class waiting in the gymnasium. There was plenty of interest to be seen in his stare, but none of the nerves one would expect to see from a new student. He simply studied the other wannabe ninjas with a deep interest.

"Everything ok?"

Realising he'd been watching Naruto a little too sharply, Iruka looked up at Mizuki, who appeared concerned for his sake. It was no surprise why. Mizuki understood better than most why Iruka would be uncomfortable in the presence of the Kyuubi's vessel.

"Yes." he stayed vague for the sake of Naruto, who was now looking at Iruka much how Iruka had to him just a second ago. _"He's just a new student. The rest doesn't matter right now."_ that said he fully intended to ask the Hokage some questions next chance he got.

"So uh, should I go in, sensei?" Naruto scratched the back of his neck with a half frown to Iruka.

"_He's certainly well mannered enough."_ Iruka let out a sigh. Last minute surprises like this were never popular with him. He liked keeping to his schedules. But at the same time he was supposed to teach his students how to roll with the punches and get on with their jobs. This was another case of having to set an example for the young ones.

"Yeah, come on in. I'll introduce you to the class."

Iruka pushed the door wider to allow Naruto inside the gymnasium. Naruto followed, though not before bowing to Mizuki, who offered an exasperated smile to Iruka.

The whole class watched as their sensei joined them with a stranger in tow. Only one of them diverted his eyes from the new arrival, but only because he didn't particularly care about some random loser. The rest were not so dismissive. As a matter of fact they practically drank him in with their eyes. Though this wasn't so strange. He cleaned up _very_ nicely.

"_Faded colours to bring out the hair and eyes."_ one girl in the crowd regarded Naruto through the eyes of a connoisseur. She was referring to the charcoal shirt he wore, open and collar raised with a mesh under-shirt. The taupe cargo pants were functional for a budding ninja, but sacrificed nothing in terms of style. On most this outfit would look plain, but on this boy they came together to make his hair shine and his eyes glow. _"Not bad."_ thought the pretty, blonde haired girl.

Naruto joined the class at Iruka's instruction and waited with the rest of them for their sensei to stand before the students. "This is a little sudden, but we have a new student joining our class." he announced, feeling no need to point Naruto out as nearly no one had taken their eyes off of him yet. "His name is Uzumaki Naruto. Make sure to treat him just the same as you would your other classmates."

The students gave a faint murmur to acknowledge Iruka's command. _"This isn't just a _little_ sudden."_ Iruka griped to himself. _"I'll need to evaluate Naruto's capabilities so I can synchronise his progress with the rest of the class."_ Though he wasn't fond of putting Naruto in with the lions (cubs in this case), there was no time like the present.

"All of you are going to be grouped in pairs for a sparring session. Everyone pick a partner and take a spot on the floor." Iruka paused to look over his list. "Naruto, why don't you spar with..."

"Sensei."

Iruka was not the only one to look towards the one who spoke up. Every pair of eyes found their way to the one student who had quickly lost interest in Naruto's arrival. This was no longer the case however, for this seemingly apathetic student was now very much alert.

"What is it, Sasuke?" Iruka asked, though he had the same thought on his mind as the rest of his students. And just like all the young ones he recognised how strange it was for Sasuke to address anything at all.

"Let me spar with him."

An outbreak of whispers started among the rest of the class, all with the same subject in mind. Tough, lonesome Uchiha Sasuke was requesting to spar against the new kid? Sasuke _never_ chose a partner to spar against. He always paired with whoever asked him first or whoever he was left with. But no matter who his partner was, he never looked happy with it.

The girls were very keen on this new development.

A quick stock check of the students made it apparent to Iruka that should he allow this match up very few would be able to concentrate on their own sparring.

"No." there was an immediate scowl from Sasuke that Iruka ignored, along with the looks of disappointment from a number of the budding kunoichi. He had no intention of making a spectacle of Naruto when he had only been a part of the class for a few minutes. "You can pair up with Kiba." a sharp groan of annoyance that came from the crowd did not go unheard. "Naruto, pair up with Nara Shikamaru. Everyone else choose a partner and find a spot on the floor."

The class became a mess of voices and movement as students picked their opponents and moved out to the designated rings they could spar in. Not knowing anyone by name, Naruto was forced to wait until only one person remained for him to figure out who Nara Shikamaru was.

Shikamaru gave Naruto a tired once over, rubbing his neck and muttering something along the lines of "what a pain". There was little more that Naruto could offer in response than a weak smile as his designated opponent took the nearest available ring and waited for him.

While the class prepared themselves for their physical training Iruka ascended some stairs to the catwalk above so he could observe from a decent viewpoint. From here he could see quite clearly that even though it wasn't the match up many of the class had been hoping for, most had positioned themselves so they could get a good look at the newbie. Though he did not approve, he could hardly stop them.

"Ok, if everyone is ready!" as always he waited a few seconds more to let everyone take up their stances. "Make the sign!"

Upon command almost every student made "the sign", raising their hand in a single seal to their opponent. Only Naruto, slow on the uptake, hesitated to follow suit.

"_He doesn't know the formalities."_ Iruka noted. "Alright, begin!"

During the first sparring matches of the first year of the academy for these students, almost everyone immediately lunged at each other in a desperate fit to win the upper hand. By this year however they were all intelligent enough to stay their fists and look for an opportunity to attack. As such the gymnasium remained almost silent, aside from the sounds of rubber soles squeaking on the floor.

Down near the centre of it all Shikamaru squared off with the new guy, privately complaining to himself about the unlucky turn of events. It had always been the norm for him to spar with Chouji, so these sessions always passed somewhat easily. He couldn't trust this new guy to take things as lightly. He kept himself at the ready, preferring physical exertion to pain.

Somewhere among the many pairings in the gymnasium, somebody started their match. Soon others followed and the cacophony of the sparring session began.

In the sound of grunts and scrapes, with limbs and bodies flickering about in the peripheral of visions, Naruto took in a deep and calm breath. As he released the air from his lungs he slipped into a combative stance, and set his eyes on his opponent.

Iruka leant forward on the railing, vision transfixed upon Naruto. His form was good. No, not just good. _Great_. Not that Iruka expected his form to be bad. There was no way the Hokage would put him where he was if he couldn't manage this much. But from this, two things were suggested to Iruka.

Naruto was either well trained, or exceptionally gifted.

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!"

Suddenly Iruka's concentration was broken by the sound of a male voice exclaiming in pain. He and most of his students found Inuzuka Kiba on the floor, his arm pinned behind him by Sasuke, who looked more irritated than exerted. Iruka blew into his whistle and the two boys parted, getting to their feet. Nursing an aching arm Kiba begrudgingly held out his hand to Sasuke, who accepted it with equal displeasure.

"Waste of my time." Sasuke muttered under his breath as he walked away.

"Jackass." Kiba spat under his as he did the same.

Iruka dryly pondered the merits of lecturing Sasuke and Kiba about the true nature of sportsmanship. As he thought about the uphill battle he would have with such a thing, he looked back to Naruto and Shikamaru's match. He almost dropped his whistle.

Shikamaru was down on one knee, wincing in pain. Naruto stood over him, his hand grasped tightly around Shikamaru's wrist. A wrist twisted to an awkward angle that even a full fledged Genin probably couldn't get out of. There was no need to see this match go any further. Iruka blew on his whistle, and just for safe measure called out to the two.

"Naruto, Shikamaru! That's enough!"

The call-out, unusual by this year, resulted in the rest of the class slipping their attentions to said boys. All of them saw the position Naruto had Shikamaru in just before he broke it, stepping back from his defeated opponent with a weak grin on his face.

"Sorry." he moved back in and offered his hand to Shikamaru. "You alright?"

There was a look in Shikamaru's eye that suggested he had something to say that matched the tone Sasuke and Kiba had shared with each other. But unlike those two he put it aside and accepted Naruto's hand with his unhurt one. "Yeah." was all he had to say as he got to his feet.

Movement in the gymnasium became sluggish then. Iruka was about to instruct Naruto on the proper procedure for concluding a match when Shikamaru held out his hand. This time Naruto was much quicker on the uptake and performed the same gesture as Sasuke and Kiba, albeit with much less hostility. Then, also like the previous two, they both carefully left the sparring field, headed to the wall to wait for the rest of the class.

"_I wasn't expecting it to be over so quickly." _Iruka privately berated himself for missing his chance to see Naruto in action. That said, he did gather a couple of details. _"Good form. And if I'm not mistaken that was aikido he used there."_

Once Naruto, Shikamaru, Sasuke and Kiba were clear of the class, sparring began to pick back up. There weren't any other take downs that occurred in such close succession, but eventually winners and losers were decided. All the while Iruka surveyed them all, the same thoughts lingering in his mind.

Should he pit Naruto against a stronger opponent in order to better gauge his strengths and weaknesses? Or should he allow Naruto to join the natural course of the class and let him choose or be chosen for sparring practice? What was the right course of action with this particular student?

These were the same questions he asked himself before the start of the matches. But now that he saw Naruto standing there at the wall, watching Shikamaru nurse his wrist with an apologetic smile, Iruka felt his concerns lessen. Maybe things weren't going to be so bad after all.

* * *

When the sparring matches were over Iruka assigned each of his students to a pre-determined training exercise based on how they performed. The students who did poorly, such as Kiba and Shikamaru, were given hefty tasks in order to bring them up to scratch. Whereas students like Sasuke and Naruto were given no such homework. Once that was all done, everyone returned to the classroom.

The next study session was dedicated to mathematics, and of course its application to the ninja arts. Iruka took to the blackboard and began drawing up formulae of moderate difficulty, explaining in loose terms things like trigonometry, speed, distance and time and similar lessons he informed them they would be studying in deeper detail over the coming weeks.

Near the back of the class, Naruto sat with a pencil in his left hand, copying down the diagrams Iruka drew along with any notes added to the blackboard. He didn't look particularly interested in the subject matter, but then neither did anyone else.

From the corner of his eye he noticed Shikamaru, whom Iruka had seated him beside, pause in his writing. At first he thought nothing of it, but it happened again a minute later, and once more in an even shorter span of time. The moment came when Naruto couldn't resist looking over, and there he saw Shikamaru massaging his wrist with an irritated look on his face.

"Oh man, I didn't get your writing hand did I?" Naruto leant close to Shikamaru and whispered this so Iruka wouldn't notice.

"It's fine." Shikamaru grumbled, though he put his pencil down again.

Naruto watched Shikamaru for just a few seconds more before returning to his own work. He could tell his neighbour didn't want anyone handing him any pity. But it made him uncomfortable to think that he may have seriously injured his classmate, if his wrist continued to hurt even now.

Shikamaru registered none of this. His only thoughts were on what his mother would say when she would look over his notes that night and see them incomplete. She would nag and call any reason Shikamaru gave for his lack of work a lazy excuse.

He almost didn't notice when his notebook was pulled away from him.

"Hey!" he stopped himself at the last second from applying volume to his exclamation. He also found himself without any follow up when he saw what became of his stolen notebook.

Naruto was using it, copying notes from the board onto its paper. And he was doing it with his right hand, while his left continued to work on his own book. The mere spectacle of this shut Shikamaru up quite completely. This guy was ambidextrous?

Shikamaru was going to ask Naruto why he was doing what he was doing, but before that he looked at his neighbour's face. What he saw was concentration deeper than anything he'd ever seen in an academy student. A quick glance to the notebooks explained why. Naruto was ahead of Shikamaru, yet he continued to copy both their notes down. He was focusing on two different points on the board, memorising two different pieces of information and jotting them down at the same time.

There was little more Shikamaru could do than sit there and gape at Naruto.

At that time he was not the only one to notice what Naruto was doing. Many of the students, prolific and otherwise, watched as the newcomer aided the slightly disabled Nara Shikamaru. As the chalk scratching on the board continued they all returned to their work. But aside from the surly Sasuke, they all shared a thought. One they worded differently to themselves, but that carried the same general meaning.

This Uzumaki Naruto was a pretty nice guy.

From the blackboard Iruka slyly looked over his shoulder, watching his newest student help out his laziest student. A smile crept onto his lips, though he said nothing and resumed his work.

The mid day bell rang to signal the start of the lunch period. Iruka was among the first to leave the class while most of his students lingered around. Many brought lunches from home and preferred to eat outside, but with weather like what they were having they settled for the classroom instead.

"Here you go."

As fruitless as it was to try and hide the fact, Shikamaru sheepishly attempted to take back his notebook in the most nonchalant manner possible. Looking down at the notes Naruto had copied for him, he couldn't help but feel a little relief when he saw rather mediocre handwriting. At least this Naruto guy wasn't _perfect._

"Thanks." he kept his voice low and made all efforts not to look directly at Naruto. Unfortunately this served well to enhance the awkwardness that lingered around in its wake. His attention was then caught by his friend Chouji at the door, who was signalling him to come along. Eager for the chance to move on, but still stuck with a sense of propriety, Shikamaru turned to Naruto as he got to his feet. "Uh... I'm going to the cafeteria. Do you wanna...?"

Naruto waited for Shikamaru to finish the sentence, but he had enough to go on that it didn't matter when that didn't happen. "Oh uh, no thanks." he patted his bento box and gave a half grin to his neighbour. "I'm good here. Catch ya later."

Not at all offended by the rejection, Shikamaru gave a wave before departing to meet with his friend. This left Naruto alone to look over his notes while he opened his bento. He wasn't really reading the notes however. Nor did he have any aversion to joining Shikamaru in the cafeteria. No, the reason for this façade was quite simple.

"Uzumaki-san?"

Naruto feigned his surprise as he looked up at one of the pairs of eyes he'd seen peering his way constantly in the past minute or so. A girl stood in the aisle beside him. A decent looking girl, with decent looking friends beside her. Friends who had also been peering his way. There was a stereotype about girls like them, but Naruto didn't buy into it. For one thing, the boys in the immediate vicinity were doing a poor job of pretending they weren't listening.

"Hi!" greeted the girl closest to him, with her friends following her in kind. "I'm Nadako Izumi."

"My name is Oroomi Hitane."

"I'm Kosuga Mayori. Nice to meet you!"

And again the other two followed with a "nice to meet you".

Three females of fair features had come to greet the new guy. The new guy thanked his fortune in private, but publicly he got to his feet to return their greeting. "Pleasure is mine Nadako-san, Oroomi-san, Kosuga-san." he extended his hand to each of them with a feeble smile. "Please, call me Naruto."

The girls each had their own odd smiles as they accepted Naruto's soft handshake. "I hope you don't mind us talking to you." Izumi's embarrassment was a clear pretence. "I didn't think new students were accepted by this point."

"You must come from another village, right?" Mayori was much brighter than Izumi. It was fitting for such a small girl. "Did you move here with your family?"

Naruto waved away the short girl's theory and took to his seat again. "Nah, I've been a Konoha citizen all my life."

That response piqued more interests than just those of the girls beside him. "Huh?" Mayori was quite the expressive girl by the look of her. "But, but in the gym you were so cool! You took down Shikamaru almost as fast as Sasuke-kun took down Kiba!"

While most of the class chatted among themselves, Naruto noticed a distinct quietening within his vicinity. Everywhere he looked he caught other students giving fleeting glances. It occurred to him that perhaps strange was an understatement when describing his presence in this classroom.

A few seconds passed. Then Hitane interjected. "Well, it _was_ Shikamaru after all." snidely she shrugged her shoulders. "It would've been pathetic if you _couldn't_ beat him."

Izumi and Mayori shot their friend a quick look, but were even quicker to show how innocent and unaffected they were to the comment. Neither of them wanted to admit that they agreed with her. After all, many in the class didn't look like they approved of her derision of their peer.

Naruto regarded the three girls with curiosity. Then he pulled his bento box towards him and opened it up, enjoying the view of his modest meal. "I guess I should have gone easy on him." he sat back and stared at his food, watching it with a plain yet pondering expression.

"Yeah, now Shikamaru's going to be using his wrist as an excuse all week!"

"Hitane..." Mayori whispered, aware of the leering eyes looking their way.

Naruto contemplatively drummed the edge of his bento box with his fingers. "I wasn't talking about that."

There was something in his manner of speaking that succeeded in quietening Hitane like her friends could not. It also garnered the closer attention of those who were eavesdropping, and by proxy anyone else who noticed said eavesdropping. Those who looked saw the distance in Naruto's stare.

"We're not here to become peddlers after all. Where we're going, any day could be our last. But we do it for the good of our village, and all the people within it." he turned to see the three girls, smiling kindly to them all. "I think anyone brave enough to make that sacrifice deserves all the support they can get."

His little speech was met with silence. But the class was not unresponsive. Many small smiles much like Naruto's were born. Not the least from the girls who had come to talk to him.

"Yeah, you're right!" Izumi eagerly agreed. "In that case, I hope to work well with you!"

Hitane and Mayori were quick to chime in with the same response.

With a wider smile, Naruto offered his reply in kind. "You too... and hey." he flashed them a cheeky wink. "Even if he is as you say, Shikamaru-san is getting ready to take the same risks as the rest of us. Don't you think he deserves our support as well?"

The smiles of the three girls, Hitane especially, where quickly exchanged for embarrassed blushes. "Ah... yeah." Hitane murmured, suddenly aware of the wry looks directed at her from all directions.

"Well... we'll let you eat your lunch in peace!" though in a hurry to remove herself from the stage of attention, Izumi couldn't help showing a pleasant face to Naruto. "Talk to you later, Naruto-kun!"

"Anytime." Naruto offered a small wave as Izumi and her friends bid him goodbye. With them gone he contentedly set his focus on his lunch, oblivious to the fact that many others were still looking his way. This subsided little by little though as the entertainment disappeared, until only a select couple among the class lingered upon him.

Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura noticed each other all of a sudden. They hastily turned away, not wanting to be caught staring _too_ much.

* * *

The Hokage took his lunch at the same time as the students and teachers. It was the one time each day that he set work aside and took a personal breather. Only under emergencies was this time allowed to be interrupted. This allowed for two things. A situation where it was clear that the Hokage was not busy. And a knotted feeling in the gut of anyone who would attempt to take advantage of this opening.

Iruka's appetite was firmly waiting for him outside of the private lunch room of the Hokage.

Before Sarutobi Hiruzen was a calculated meal, intended to provide a man of his age and position the nutrition and sustenance he would need for the rest of the day. Fortunately a perk of being Hokage was the allowance of meals that not only met this criteria, but tasted almost as good as a meal at the Daimyo's palace. Even if it was bad manners, Hiruzen refused to let such good food go cold simply because his company was not eating.

"You can relax Iruka." Hiruzen spoke between mouthfuls. "I was expecting you."

Though settling down completely was impossible, Iruka's shoulders did slack a little. "It's about Uzumaki Naruto sir." Hiruzen glanced at him, but gave no indication of surprise at all. "I was wondering why you decided to put him in my class." Iruka paused for a second, and then added. "I also don't understand why it's taken him so long to be enlisted."

Hiruzen didn't speak for a short while, for his mouth was busy with other things. He did however gesture for Iruka to take a seat opposite him in the booth he occupied. Iruka did so without hesitance, his eyes flitting between the Hokage, the Hokage's plate and the view through the wooded slits of the window beside him.

"This is a rather rather awkward situation, so I would appreciate your discretion." Hiruzen took a sip of his tea while Iruka firmly nodded his head. "There is a reason that Naruto has not been enlisted in the academy until now. A simple, but grave reason in fact."

There was another slight pause as Hiruzen cut a piece of meat from his dish. "He didn't _want_ to be enlisted."

Iruka stared at the Hokage while the Hokage continued to eat. He felt he had heard something significant, but was missing an angle or two. "Well it's not like everyone should want to become a ninja." he made sure not to speak too boldly. "I'm not sure I understand what's so grave about it."

Knife and fork clattered against ceramic as Hiruzen put down his utensils, watching Iruka solemnly. "Naruto is the container of the Kyuubi no Yoko. We call said containers "Jinchuuriki"." he ignored the discomfort on Iruka's part. The matter he was speaking of was too important to avoid being patronising. "Of the beings similar to the Kyuubi, there are eight others belonging to several villages, including the rest of the greater villages. I assure you there is not a single one of them who hasn't gone to every effort to ensure their Jinchuuriki is trained in the ninja arts."

Ill at ease and a little ashamed, Iruka bowed his head while Hiruzen continued with his meal. Keen to get past this less than proud moment, Iruka pressed on in a direction he could not be criticised for. "In that case, why has it taken until now for you to convince him to join?"

Listening intently, Iruka caught wind of something he perhaps shouldn't have heard. In Hiruzen's exhale was a note, and in that note, a feeling of dissatisfaction. When he lifted his head to the Hokage again, what he saw could only be described as severe.

"I didn't."

Iruka could not hide his surprise. The Hokage put down his utensils properly this time, holding his hands together as he stared past Iruka.

"I have spent more time than I ever thought necessary trying to glamorise the life of a Shinobi to Naruto. I've used every direct and indirect method I and my advisers could think of to make him want to enlist. It's important you see that he doesn't feel forced into the position." Hiruzen let out a long and tired sigh. "Yet he would hear none of it. He firmly held no desire to ever become a ninja."

It was easy to see why the Hokage was so distressed by this. But Iruka was all the more unsettled. If what the Hokage said was true, and Iruka had no reason to believe otherwise, then what he himself had witnessed today was not only strange, but downright amazing. How could a boy with no interest in the ninja arts overcome another who had spent four to five years in training?

Not wanting to make a fool out of himself again by voicing his thoughts too carelessly, Iruka postponed it for now. "Well, you must have gotten through to him in the end, right?" his grin was unconvincing, but a good effort. "It must have been a pleasant surprise when he came around."

After a second Hiruzen smiled and appeared to relax himself. He picked up his knife and fork again, hunger returned. "I admit I had to hide my eagerness when he approached me with that request." It definitely couldn't be said that he had recovered entirely from his discomposure. The smile was exchanged for a smirk. "Though he is rather too confident in himself I think. He was adamant that he be grouped with peers of his own age." he raised his eyes to Iruka. "I apologise for the disruption, but I felt it was important for him to see that it wasn't wise to try and match students who have been in training for much longer than he has."

Returning his attention to his meal, Hiruzen did not see the bead of nervous sweat dripping from Iruka's brow.

"So tell me, how did he hold up in the sparring session?" Hiruzen took in another mouthful of food. Feeling he could hide it no longer, Iruka answered the Hokage's question.

"He... won."

* * *

The vending machine groaned as it dropped a can of grape juice from one of its shelves. Naruto crouched down to take it from the tray below and grab his change from the coin slot. As he stood up again he got an unexpected twist to his stomach caused by a surprise. Said surprise being the presence of someone who hadn't been there when he bent over.

A girl was standing next to the vending machine, leaning against the wall to get a good look at him. He recognised her well enough, even if he had yet to catch her name. She was a pretty girl, prettier than Izumi and her friends in Naruto's opinion. Blonde, longish hair swept over part of her face. And keen, sharp eyes locked onto his, accompanied with a smile of greeting.

Not entirely sure what to make of this new presence, Naruto thought it better to ask. "Can I help you?"

Without any change to her expression, the girl moved closer and stooped forward a little, bringing herself eye level with Naruto. "You're shorter than I thought."

Just a little fazed by the comment, Naruto was just a little flat in his response. "Well we're young. There's time to grow."

After a couple of seconds of contemplation, the pretty girl righted herself with a somewhat satisfied look about her. "I guess." then, as if in afterthought. "I'm Yamanaka Ino."

Naruto debated whether or not he should introduce himself, but he figured that his own name had been said often enough today. "Nice to meet you, Ino-san." he was a little disingenuous, but remained open minded.

Ino gave no reaction to the tone of his greeting. "Likewise."

Another span of nothing passed. With little to contribute to the lacklustre conversation, Naruto raised his can in a half wave. "Well then..." he let his sentence trail off and passed Ino by.

"Are you going back to class?"

Naruto stopped. "Yeah, why?"

There was a touch of a glint in Ino's eye. "Do you mind if I come with you?"

A few people passed by in the hallway. Some students, some teachers. All of them moved aside while looking towards Naruto and Ino, muttering amongst themselves in passing. Ino didn't bat an eyelid to any of them. Naruto on the other hand couldn't help noticing the level of attention they were drawing.

He smiled back at her. "I don't mind at all."

And so Ino joined him in the walk back to class. Naruto opened his can of juice and raised it to his lips, eternally aware that his company continued to glance his way. He made no effort to address the constant attention he was receiving this time, certain that Ino would make her thoughts clear soon enough.

He was not mistaken. "Everyone was surprised when Sasuke-kun asked to fight you this morning." though she was the definition of cool and casual in her pace, her words suggested a more blunt demeanour. "I think a good few of us were disappointed when sensei wouldn't let it happen."

Naruto let his drink hang loosely at his side. "Why? Is he a big shot or something?"

Ino stared at the side of his face, taken a little aback. "What... well, yeah, he _is_ the top of the class after all. Not to mention a member of the infamous Uchiha clan." her eyes took her back to the hallway, though the inflections of her face were unchanging. "I thought you and Sasuke-kun knew each other. Why else would he challenge you out of the blue like that?"

"Is that strange?"

Ino gave out a small laugh full of feeling. "_Very_ strange I'd say."

Having grown accustomed to the whispers and short looks of the passers by, Naruto took to meeting their gazes in full, meeting their eye contact with confidence. "Top of the class huh?" his lips spread to show his teeth. He stopped glancing at his fellow students and instead gave his focus to Ino. "I bet he's lonely."

With the odd look on his face and his peculiar choice of words, Ino didn't know how to respond at first. "Hm, well... yeah, he likes to keep his distance I guess." her expression changed to something a bit more dreamy, and she began to get carried away. "But that's one of his good points. He's a lone wolf with an icy heart-"

Little by little Naruto zoned out Ino's inane praise of the top student. He had a fair grasp of the kind of person present company was by now.

"- just waiting for someone to help thaw-"

The babbling girl failed to notice Naruto awkwardly take a step aside to distance himself from her. He looked down to the end of the hallway and recalled the path to his class. This was going to take longer than he felt he could bear.

"- tragic last survivor of the Uchiha clan-"

Naruto's ears perked up, but Ino did not go into further detail, and the titbit was soon lost in the wash of things she had to say about this Sasuke guy. He almost found himself ignoring Ino altogether when she turned around and began walking backwards so that once again she was looking straight at him.

"Speaking of which..." with no idea what Ino said that brought her to whatever new direction she was headed, Naruto felt he had little choice but to pay attention to her. "Those things you said in the classroom, about supporting everyone... did you really mean that?"

Though he had been giving her his attention freely, Ino had now grasped it. Naruto could see in her eyes a dry quality that showcased a kind of doubt that, while not quite cynical, was undeniably disbelieving. She didn't think Naruto truly felt that every member of the class should help everyone else to be their best purely out of respect for one another.

She was smarter than Naruto had given her credit for. He shrugged and smiled. "You got me."

The both of them stopped walking at about the same time. At first Ino was only vaguely aware, but it crept to her mind that the corridor was suddenly quite sparse of teachers or other students. She and Naruto were quite alone, and he was looking at her like a con artist giving up the ghost.

Something inside her twisted anxiously. "So what's the truth then?"

Naruto continued to watch Ino with a half smile for several seconds, noting her discomfort. He then switched to a full smile. Or rather, a calm grin.

"The truth is the same. I wasn't lying to anybody." the flicker of doubt returned to Ino. Naruto met it with modest sincerity. "Think about it, Ino-san. If someone like Shikamaru manages to make it as a ninja, you might have to entrust your own life to him, right?" he showed his palms as best he could, in a sign of open honesty. "Don't you think we should do whatever we can to make sure the comrades who watch our backs can do so to the best of their abilities?"

The bell rang. The corridor became a lot busier. Ino cocked her head at Naruto, considering him while the crowds ebbed past the two of them. "It makes sense I suppose." the corner of an eyebrow rose suggestively. "Sounds a little manipulative though."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, unashamed. "I once heard that in politics, you're either playing a game, or your losing it." with the crowd brushing past him he decided to join it, resuming his walk with Ino back to class. "I don't really like thinking of it like that though."

"It's not a bad thing." Ino softly pushed her arm against Naruto's, a collected smile on her lips. "But if you think about it, having a lot of people watching your back means you yourself would have a lot of backs to watch." almost imperceptibly, her eyes sharpened on Naruto. "Are you sure you can handle it?"

Naruto could feel the shift in Ino's tone even without looking at her. She was a cleverer girl than she let on. The crowds passing them by this way and that became all the more tangible. Naruto, without losing his pace, turned to look at them all. Their fronts, their backs, their sides. The eyes of the students and especially the eyes of the teachers. For the adults were always looking his way.

"It's not a matter of "can I"." the volume in his voice lowered, but he did not lose the confident glint in his pupils. "It's that I _have_ to."

Just as he had noticed a change in Ino, she too thought she could see something a little different in him. But whatever it was remained unclear to her. His words were the only thing she understood. "Ok then Mr Hero." she gave him a wink as he bashfully looked her way. "Please look after me too."

* * *

Iruka was halfway to his feet, but Hiruzen waved him away. His hacks and coughs had brought the startled attention of the ANBU guarding the area. Not sure what to do, Iruka stayed deathly still while the Hokage's guards trained their concealed blades on him.

Hiruzen drained his tea to swallow the chunk of food hastily trapped in his throat. He gasped and sucked in air, but that aside he appeared to be ok. "It's alright. Just a little shock is all." he dismissed the ANBU, who warily departed from the premises. After a moment of massaging his throat he bid Iruka to sit again. The chunin instructor collapsed onto the bench, heart hammering in his chest.

"He _won?_" Hiruzen repeated Iruka's last statement, his winded face painted in disbelief. "Iruka, you _have_ been training your students properly I hope?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama..." Iruka was now concerned that the Hokage would not have the explanation he had been hoping to hear. "His opponent was Nara Shikamaru. If I may, Naruto showed a surprising level of prowess for someone who hasn't received any formal training. I... thought for sure that he had been undergoing private lessons until now, after what I saw."

Hiruzen slowly shook his head, his eyes falling to the meal he had rather lost his appetite for. "It has always been my wish that Naruto join the rest of his peers in the academy. Make some friends, find some happiness in his everyday life. That he fought against that so vehemently, I had begun to think..." he had been about to say that he had thought there was little hope for Naruto. But it wasn't something that needed to be said. "I have given no instruction for him to receive private tutelage. Furthermore the surveillance on him has given no indication that he has been in contact with anyone who _could_ train him. Certainly not for the duration needed to bring him to an equal level with an academy student."

The school bell rang in the distance, filling the quiet that had gathered between the two adults. The Hokage's chest deflated and he pushed his plate away, wiping his hands and mouth on a napkin.

Perhaps it was optimistic, but Iruka had to suggest a possibility that had come to him. "Sir... could it be that he's a genius, like Uchiha Sasuke, or Hyuuga Neji?"

The Hokage looked Iruka straight in the eye. In that look Iruka saw the experience of the leader who stood at the helm of the village through some of the worst times in its history. "I sincerely hope so."

And with that, he rose from his chair and bid Iruka farewell. He left through one door, and Iruka through another. As he returned to his class, the teacher realised that he had gone to the Hokage for answers. Though he had received them, the questions that took the place of those previous were by far the more serious.

Once again he asked himself what he was to do with his new student.

* * *

The afternoon came without any more excitement as the morning had brought. When the last bell rang the students filed out in their groups or on their own. Iruka's class, being further from the main entrance, left in the middle of the throng of the masses. Hasty goodbyes were given between friends who could not go home together. And the din covered all in a blanket of sound.

Naruto found his way out of the main crowd. His backpack slung over his shoulder, he watched the rest of the student body flow out through the main gates. A fair few faces he recognised from his class. But of course the vast majority to him were strangers in the wind. People he did not know, and may never know.

"See you tomorrow, Naruto-kun!" called out Izumi. She and her friends waved at him from close to the edge of the crowd. Naruto returned their friendly gesture. The he noticed to his interest Hitane nudging Izumi and pointing somewhere outside the crowd. The three girls at once called out again. "See you tomorrow Shikamaru!"

A distance ahead a confused Shikamaru looked over his shoulder to the girls. Realising they were indeed talking to him, he uncertainly waved back at them, before quickly returning to his equally mystified friend. Naruto caught the three girls glancing towards him again before they disappeared into the crowd.

Nobody else called out to him after that, and soon he was splitting off even further from the masses. Eager to get home, he took to using the short cuts he'd memorised long ago to halve the time it would take him to reach his apartment. It gave some solitude and distance from the noise of the village. A peaceful return to familiar grounds.

It wasn't too long before he found himself approaching the apartments where he lived. From the sunlight he stepped into the shade and began the climb up to the little corner of Konoha that was entirely his own.

His keys jangled and his lock clicked. The door creaked open and a darker shade greeted him from within. Naruto entered into the shadows of his home and closed the door behind him. He pressed his back against the wood and turned his keys again until he heard the lock switch back into place.

The apartment was silent. The curtains were closed. Only the vaguest of light made it into the hallway. In this small space, no one was here. No one watching, and no one listening.

The corners of Naruto's lips curled up.

And he broke the silence... with a laugh.


End file.
